Rocks 21 — Restaurant in Stonington

A Few Disclaimers: The restaurant comped our entire meal. The table next to us seemed to have a fantastic experience with their server. The view was great. Let me tell you an incredible story. My family arrived at Rocks 21 around 7:10pm on a Thursday. It was my husband, our two children (2 and 5) and myself. The hostess was kind enough to find us a seat outside and we loved the view. We settled into our table and checked out the menu. Looks delicious. There’s live music…..it’s not great… but she’s trying. Kids are drawing quietly. All good. 15 mins later we’re still waiting and we let a staff member know that we haven’t been served yet. A party of 6 shows up next to us and is served with drinks and orders appetizers. About 5 mins after that, my husband tells another staff member that we were still waiting. A server named Evan(?) comes over, brings 2 waters for the 4 of us and takes our order for drinks and an app (chips and salsa). Around 7:45, he brings 2 chocolate milks for the kids and says he’s still waiting on our drinks. I ask again for the other 2 waters. I start wondering if we’re being pranked. At 7:50, my husband goes inside and orders his own drinks from the bar. He watches, vaguely amused, as our waiter notices him at the bar and with a panicked look, quietly tells the bartender that he needs to make our (first order) of drinks RIGHTNOW. Our original drinks arrive about 5 mins later, the waiter apologizes for the wait and takes our food order. He brings us the remaining water.

Around the same time, my husband is served the drinks from the bar and then waits for the bartender to figure out how to use the credit card machine. His receipt checked out at 7:57. We watch as the table next to us gets a 2nd round of drinks. The live music has ended. The table next door gets their 2nd round of apps. Around 8:05 my husband goes inside and speaks to the hostess and manager. We keep waiting and soon the manager comes over to tell us that it will be out soon but it’s taking time because it was a pork chop and it’s been sitting in the window for 20 mins. I tell him we ordered an app 20 mins ago. He looks surprised and asks what it was. I say chips and salsa. The app is brought out. The sun goes down. We’ve been here an hour.

The waiter comes over and apologizes, says it’s totally his fault and says he totally forgot the about the chips. Around 8:15 they bring my husband and I our food…the kids start getting antsy. A few mins later they bring meals for the kids and the manager says brightly “Who has the pasta with red sauce?!” Awkward silence ensues because the answer is Nobody. Nobody has the pasta with red sauce. The order is wrong. They tell us it will be out shortly. They apologize again. My five year old starts asking us why everyone is saying sorry so much and then says “it’s probably because the food is taking a really long time”. The table of 6 next to us gets a bill and their awesome waiter Ryan(?) tells them he’s taken care of a couple appetizers. They start taking pictures together. Lifelong friendships are forming. They leave with drinks in to-go cups and big smiles. We start laughing because there’s nothing else to do. We wait for Ashton Kutcher to pop out with a camera crew and give us our prize money. Soon they bring my son his order. We start to eat but I can’t cut the pork chop. I try with a butter knife with no luck. After asking, they bring me a steak knife. It’s no use. It is so tough after the first cut that I literally can’t get into it with the steak knife. The risotto was pretty good but I think I’m nauseous at this point. The tacos are cold. We dont even bother telling them because hey, at least the food is here, right? The waiter apologizes again and says the entire meal is covered. We thank them. We ask for to-go cups. We’re given an open plastic cup with a straw. In desperation, I pour the remainder of my margarita into one of the children’s empty kids cups and we walk home around 8:45, in the dark, with empty bellies and a...

We were really looking forward to Easter Brunch, but unfortunately, the overall experience fell short of expectations—particularly in terms of price-to-quality. At $70 per person, there’s a certain level of service, attention to detail, and food quality that guests naturally anticipate.

To start on a positive note, we were seated promptly at our reservation time, which we appreciated. However, we were shown to a table that was completely unset—no utensils, napkins, or water glasses. It took approximately 8–10 minutes before a server came by to take drink orders, and when we asked about utensils, we were told they were available at the buffet line. That was understandable, but we still had no water glasses at the table.

At the buffet, the plates provided were soaking wet—to the point where I was able to pour water off mine onto the table. At the egg station, my father-in-law requested over-easy eggs, but the chef on duty was only equipped to prepare omelets. They had to call over another chef to assist, which suggested a lack of preparation. Several buffet items, such as fresh fruit, had been emptied and not replenished, even as staff in the back could be heard calling out refill needs. While some of the sauces were kept in Crockpots—practical, perhaps—it didn’t present a polished or professional appearance. In general, the serving utensils didn’t appear particularly clean, and the overall buffet setup didn’t inspire much confidence.

When we returned to our table with our food, we found a dirty, half-eaten plate that was not ours still sitting there. We had to flag down a staff member to have it removed, which was another unfortunate oversight.

As for the food, it was okay—but nothing that stood out. The lamb was overcooked and quite tough, the ham was fairly standard, and the prime rib was decent, but not memorable.

I’m giving two stars rather than one because I suspect this may have been the restaurant's first time hosting a holiday brunch of this scale. There’s definitely potential here, and I hope this feedback is helpful in identifying areas for improvement. With more attention to detail, cleanliness, and coordination, this could become a truly special experience for...

I've eaten here a few times over the years and have always enjoyed the food and water views. My most memorable time was on Mother's Day 2018 when this restaurant was still named The Harbour House, and they had the most spectacular buffet I've ever seen anywhere. There was everything imaginable to eat, from carving stations of standing rib roast, turkey, and ham to jumbo cooked shrimp on ice, multiple choices of warm potato dishes, breads, pastries, breakfast dishes! Unbelievable.

A cool day, we sat outside on the deck anyway and the staff brought us blankets to stay warm while we enjoyed our food and took in the view.

Also while it was still The Harbour House, they had a lobster crepe on their menu which was one of the most sublime creations I've ever eaten. I inquired about it this Mother's Day visit, and the waitress said that Chef had left so it was no longer available, but they were getting so many requests for it, their new chef was working on one to bring it back.

Visiting here this past Sunday in late February 2020, now as Rocks 21, our party of three returned to see if they now had them on the menu and each order one. They did, and it was an item on their brunch menu. We ordered three, plus two no-limit mimosas for $15. Hawaiin style with pineapple juice and a cup of tea.

The Chef here reinterpreted the lobster crepe in their own style and it was quite different from the dreamy original except it did have a crepe and lobster. They were good but none of us thought we'd order one again, though we will certainly return for other meals in the future.

This version was very salty, and had a thick orangey yellow colored sauce over the crepe. It reminded us of Velveeta or cheese whiz. The crepe was thick but browned properly, and the lobster was tender with each crepe having a decent portion folded inside. A bowl of fresh fruit comes on the side with red seedless grapes, pineapple chunks and honeydew melon.

Perhaps the Chef can continue experimenting with the lobster crepe and bring it closer to the one everyone wants to experience again. The rooms are all decorated well. The bar is long and well-stocked. The deck was closed for the winter but is a nice option in...